Thursday, June 27, 2013

I just looked at the calendar today and realized the July 4th holiday
was a week away. Eek, where does the time go? But, the occasion also
means another gathering of the Holiday Food Party Bloggers, creating
some tasty, picnic themed recipes to celebrate. I first saw this recipe
on Brown Eyed Baker
and immediately pinned it. I didn't know when I'd get to it but I knew
for sure that I would. Then a few weeks ago, when I started thinking
about my summer holiday desserts, I decided that one would be perfect.
The original recipe only included strawberries but I added blueberries,
too, because I love the two fruits together and both go so well with
cheesecake.

Wednesday, June 26, 2013

You might recall me telling you how obsessed I am with quinoa these days. I've given you a couple of my favorite recipes for Quinoa & Chickpea Salad with Lemon Tahini Dressing and Cheesy Quinoa & Asparagus Bake
but what doesn't come across is how often I eat those. Honestly, I
can't even recall the last time I ate potatoes and I love potatoes. But
the quinoa obsession keeps winning when I'm deciding what to make for
dinner. The fact that it cooks so quickly doesn't hurt either!

Monday, June 24, 2013

We're fortunate to have asparagus in our market pretty much year round
and we do love to eat it. But the best flavor comes from the locally
grown bundles that arrive in late spring. We roast them, grill them,
slice them raw into salads, saute them with a fried egg on top or add
them to omelets. But I couldn't let the growing season go without also
baking them into a savory tart.

Friday, June 21, 2013

Last summer I discovered a passion for mangoes after having a mango
cocktail at a restaurant to celebrate our anniversary. I also quickly
discovered that I hated cutting into the things. My first attempt
yielded more fruit on the counter, the floor, my hands and the dog than
in the bowl. I eventually managed to handle the unusual fruit, but only
just.

Wednesday, June 19, 2013

Over the weekend I was faced with that age old dilemma of what to make
for dinner. What...this surprises you? I wish that, because I write a
food blog, I could just pull a crown rack of lamb out of the drawer!
When I do make something more involved I usually plan ahead for it. But
most nights, dinner needs to be easy to make and involve ingredients
that I either have in the house or are easily obtainable.

Sunday, June 16, 2013

I have a lot of business to discuss with you all today in this very
special group post. I have a great recipe and yes, we have a fantastic
giveaway. Today's event is being hosted by Kim of Cravings of a Lunatic and Jen of Juanita's Cocina. They teamed up with their blogger friends to help raise awareness and support for Cancer and Hospice today in memory of Kim's dad. We encourage everyone to read the posts and share their own experiences with cancer. We also would like to encourage everyone to donate to the Canadian Cancer Society, the American Cancer Society and also to the Canadian Hospice Palliative Care Association. Hospice was a key element during Kim's father's battle with cancer.
They made it possible for Kim to care for him at home. So please show
your support and donate if you can. You can also contact your local
Hospice and donate directly to them if you wish. A little goes a long
way!

Friday, June 14, 2013

There are a number of things that happen around here that I file under
the category of Being a Food Blogger Does Not Suck. Samples of fun new
kitchen tools for me to play with and review. Boxes that arrive with
free cookies, bottles of liquor and all kinds of other tasty samples.
Coupons. And the occasional really cool invitation.

Wednesday, June 12, 2013

My love of falafel is nearly as old as I am. My parents enjoyed that
type of cuisine so I grew up eating lots of hummus, tahini and those
delicious little fried chickpea balls. And, over the years, nothing has
changed. Well, except my resolve to not eat too many greasy little
fried things.

Monday, June 10, 2013

I've got strawberries on the brain in a big way lately. Partly it's
because it's almost summer and there are lots of lovely berries in the
market that are far too tempting not to buy. But, I was also recently
chatting with a PR representative for Driscoll's Berries. She reminded
me that National Strawberry Shortcake Day is on the 14th and was also
generous enough to send me some coupons for Driscoll's products.

Friday, June 7, 2013

What is it about bundts? For me, the fun of this type of pan is the swirl you can make inside the cake. So when the founders of our monthly bundt group, Anuradha of Baker Street and Lora of Cake Duchess, decided that our June theme would be swirly bundts, I was all in. I've swirled before, even when it wasn't part of our challenge, but Murphy's Law stepped in this time. My first attempt was a complete, although tasty, failure but I'll tell you about that another time. Today let's focus on the success and complete peanut buttery deliciousness of this properly swirled cake.

Wednesday, June 5, 2013

I have a new love interest. He's short and squat and quite a bit
yellow. He hangs around with the vegetables in the garden but, when you
get him home to the privacy of your kitchen, he turns into pasta. Dreamy, forbidden, empty carbs, pasta. Yes, my new love is a veggie in a
carb suit. What's not to love about that?

Monday, June 3, 2013

Have you ever eaten lunch at Costco? I don't mean that you've ordered a
hot dog at their concession stand. What I mean is that, while you were
pushing your shopping cart around, you stopped every few feet at the
sample tables and helped yourself to whatever they were offering until
you were full. Brian and I are definitely Costco diners although we
rarely buy the product being sampled. We do spend quite a lot of money
there, even if it's on non-sampled products, so I rather think they'd
forgive us. And it's not that we don't think what we sampled tasted
good. It usually does. But when we look at the nutrition panel of
whatever it is, we ask each other how it's even possible to get that
much fat and calories into that size container! But our dietary
reluctance to buy doesn't mean we aren't inspired to cook.

Saturday, June 1, 2013

I hope you enjoyed the first installment of Life in the Big City
a couple of weeks ago. No sooner do I start bringing you along with me
through my days in New York City though, when summer hits and it's time
to head out of the city. OK, so technically it's not summer yet, but
Memorial Day weekend is the unofficial start to summer for big city
folks. For us, long summer weekends mean getting out of the hot city
and heading to the south shore of Long Island. Out there we're a couple
of minutes drive from beaches and marinas but, best of all, is the
nearly two acres of grass and woods right outside our door.